The small print in mortgages (esp Halifax)

ILW

firsttimehomeowner wrote: »

It's funny, this was my first time in a forum, and to be honest I'm not sure I like the tone of your response. I thought forums were places where people are there to offer advice and help, sharing experiences and aiming for a more positive result. I didn't think that I would come here and be called names that infur I am stupid, had my head in the sand or acting like a child. I am open to advice, but name calling should be left in the playground when you are five years old.

Its pretty obvious you havn't looked at many forums.

MissMoneypenny

Some companies are stating they will increase the mortgage interest rate by x amount if you have an unauthorised let. Sign of things to come?

MissMoneypenny

ILW wrote: »

Its pretty obvious you havn't looked at many forums.

:lipsrseal

zappahey

firsttimehomeowner wrote: »

That is really interesting? But is makes me wonder why they would say yes to getting a job abroad versus family being sick and needing to be there for them?

They probably see less risk in that, even though overseas, you would still have an income. You would probably transfer money back rather than lose the house. That may not be possible if you have no income.

barrymoney

Hi-
If its any consolation, I had to pay-up quite a few thousand in ERC recently because I had to sell a house unexpectedly. I'd done the same as you, renewed my deal a few months before. However, I was aware of ERCs etc. (should be clear in the 'keyfacts' document?).
Sometimes the ERC reduces after 1st year?

However, I also remember being naive about other parts of the house buying process the first time around, its almost impossible to get it all right and not miss anything.

The rental issue sounds harsh, given the circumstances. I suppose from their point of view, switching to a letting, and moving to NZ isn't great for the banks risk, unfortunately (?).

curlygirl1971

barrymoney wrote: »

However, I also remember being naive about other parts of the house buying process the first time around, it's almost impossible to get it all right and not miss anything.

The rental issue sounds harsh, given the circumstances.

I think that 90% of people are the same when they are FTB's ........and some even remain that way. I've just been told recently of someone who when they came to sell their house found out they'd been on interest only for 20 years and hadn't made any provision! Even worse, they'd added the cost of new windows on to the mortgage!

But we all miss things - the process is confusing and there is a great deal to take on board and consider. The majority of us have been idiots in some way financially at some point in the past but what is more important is that we make efforts to educate ourselves.

There also isn't a great deal that we can do about it - banks are businesses and businesses are there to make money. ERC are standard and even back then if you had known you would likely have still gone ahead with the product because it was what fitted your circumstances back then. So don't beat yourself up OP, what's done is done.

With regards to the rental issue - I think due to the banks loosing so much money ....and esp the Halifax.....perhaps they see this as a way of making more money from their customers.....by sticking to their rules?

Best of luck OP. Incidentally, if you rent out the house for 1 year (as per their permission) at what stage of the mortgage will you be at at the end of that year? Will you still be on the product (and therefore subject to ERC) or will you be on or close to lapsing onto the SVR? Consent to Let might be an easier process when you are on SVR or in say another 12 months time.

franklee

firsttimehomeowner wrote: »

That is really interesting? But is makes me wonder why they would say yes to getting a job abroad versus family being sick and needing to be there for them? How did you word it to them when you were explaining that you were going to take the job overseas... did they not say that they would prefer you stay in the flat and get a job in the UK? I wonder if I could say that because of the economy and needing to go over, I will have to work in NZ and would not feel comfortable accepting a job if I knew I would be in it for less than 12 months... I wonder if that would work?

You need a means to pay back the loan. Presumably at the moment you have a job in the UK that allows you to meet the mortgage payments and you will be giving this up? If so how will you continue to pay the mortgage as well as paying for your living costs in NZ especially if you haven't got a job in NZ.

You haven't posted the expected rental income and outgoings, mortgage pcm, ground rent and maintenance charges, agency fees (circa 12% to fully manage), repairs fund (for that broken boiler etc.), expected voids when there is no rental income, contingency for the bad tenant who causes damage or does a runner.

Really in giving you a year the bank is being generous IMO as in renting out there is a lot more risk to them especially if you don't have a comparable job. This risk is lessened if you have loads of equity in the property as they know they can get their money back if there is a forced sale.

diable

firsttimehomeowner wrote: »

Just thining about it, I still think that it is really upsetting that Halifax woulldn't let us rent out the house for longer than a year. We don't want to sell, but because of their stubborness and unwillingness to agree to a longer term, we have been forced into this situation. Why is it that they don't want us to rent it out? What's the difference to them? They would get their money either way?

To be honest if they didn't know that you rented out then whats the problem?

Puts flame suit on and sits in the corner, waiting to get flamed..........

Kavajo

If you asked for a 2 year fix and they sold you a 3 year fix without pointing out the difference, then you have been missold. Have you tried complaining on about this point? I think you have a good argument here, aside from any permission to rent.

ninky_2

many of us grow up being extremely financially naive and only find out about financial products through trial and error. i think the basics of financial life management should be taught at school.

i read a copy of 'buying a home for dummies' when i got my first mortgage which did help explain the different types of mortgages.

i think when buying a financial product as with any product it's not wise to trust the seller as a sole source of advice. the halifax obviously had a vested interest in getting you to choose this mortgage and were hardly likely to say 'why don't you try abbey, they've got a much better deal than us, completely flexible with no early redemption penalties'.